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Zimbabwe

Written by visiting intern Veronica Espaillat, this blog explores how feminists have used safe spaces (albeit under different names) to build trust and create shared agendas among women. Despite extraordinary contextual differences, she finds that variations of feminist safe spaces appear across contexts, changing women's lives for the better.

If there is one thing we can say about this past year, it is that 2017 was the year of women. We were in the streets in dozens of countries – wearing pink hats, no less! We reclaimed our time and we broke the silence.

Violence against women activists continues to rise. Unfortunately, despite considerable effort, responses to this violence are coming up short. Given the urgency of the situation, JASS and allies are questioning the underlying assumptions guiding activist safety, and bringing a feminist and movement building perspective to rethinking the approach.

JASS' WInnet Shamuyarira reflects on a Cross Movement Dialogue that brought together women activists from Zimbabwe, Malawi and South Africa to identify and map the key actors, politics and policies driving the “closing space for civil society” and increased backlash against women activists in Southern Africa.

We are MOBILIZING HOPE during this year's 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence! Join us every day as we feature 16 women activists who at the forefront of many justice efforts. They will inspire and give you hope -- a true testament to the power of organizing, even in the most dire of times.

The fires we light are not fires to set alight police cars, they are small cooking fires we make in our township backyards to feed the children when there's no electricity. The fires we light are not fires to set alight our neighbor's small-time business, they are rare passions we ignite in each other to soldier on, set up vending stalls and make a living against all odds.

“We find ourselves in a crisis. There are no jobs. There is no cash. Basically everything is a problem,” says Mai Sputi, In the wake of many protests that have erupted in Zimbabwe, JASS' Winnet Shanuyarira spotlights the role women have been playing in calling for change.

"As women struggle for the biodiversity of the planet, defend livelihoods threatened by mining and extractives, and put their lives on the line, we need to prioritise the protection of WHRDs." JASS Southern Africa’s Winnet Shamuyarira reflects on defenders across Africa and their fight for the right to lands, livelihoods and life.

Katswe Sistahood and JASS Southern Africa have joined forces to help young women and girls in Zimbabwe use popular performance art to challenge taboos surrounding sex, sexuality, and women’s bodies, while also organizing for support, protection, and change in a context of corruption and violence against women and girls.

JASS Southern Africa's Maggie Mapondera and Katswe's Winnet Shamuyarira sound off on a historic court ruling (March, 2015) condemning two perpetrators of street harassment to a year in jail and why there's still a long way to go for Zimbabwean women.